Jay-Z has finally parted ways with Tidal as his 6-year majority ownership has come to an end, and the sale to the deal is finalized.
The deal was closed with Jay-Z earning $350 million from Square, a company that is owned by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, who also owns Twitter. It’s a solid return on his investment in Tidal, which he bought the struggling company in 2015 for $56 million in partnership with other artists who contributed. Among those who contributed to Tidal’s initial purchase are Beyonce, Rihanna, Kanye West, Madonna, Alicia Keys, Calvin Harris, Chris Martin, Damian Marley and others who all had 3% equity in the company.
Square is a financial services company, Dorsey, and is now in the music streaming business. Previously Tidal struggled against competition like Spotify and Apple Music. Both Dorsey and Jay-Z are friends and have been speculated to be planning business together.
In March, Dorsey announced that he planned to buy Tidal from the rap mogul. The deal was finally closed on Friday morning.
Under the deal, Square will get 80% ownership of Tidal- which is Jay-Z’s shares, as well as the many licensing deals the company has with major record labels. There will not be any changes to the artists/owners who will remain with the company too.
Jay-Z and Roc Nation CEO Desiree Perez, who helped broker the deal, will be on Tidal’s Board of Directors to run the streaming company.
The rapper turned billionaire’s net worth is estimated to have grown by 40% with the Tidal sale. He previously recouped monies on his investment when he sold 33% of his Tidal shares to Sprint for $200 million in 2017.
Now that Tidal is in new hands, it leaves to be seen how the company will be run. When Jay-Z bought the company, it was aimed as an owned by artist company. The company paid 75% of royalties to musicians, producers, and songwriters. “Less profit for our bottom line, more money for the artist, fantastic,” he had said.
